A Precious Feather

Victor Kerlow

Dear Diary:

Me: Waiting for the bus at Ninth Avenue and 39th Street on a hot June afternoon.

He: Talking to himself as he wanders slowly down the sidewalk. Teeth missing. Dirty, torn clothes too heavy and too many layers for the heat of the day. Pants sag, coat too large, an old baseball cap covering tangled bits of hair. Turquoise and silver rings on his grimy hands.

Leans three plastic shopping bags against the bus sign, each one bulging with possessions, the handles tied with string.

A small white feather, probably from a pigeon roosting on a tenement windowsill overhead, floats down from above, caught in the eddies of passing traffic. Surprised, he sees it in the corner of his eye as it passes close to his cheek and alights on his sleeve.

He picks it up gently, turns it over, holds it between finger and thumb for close inspection. Reaches deep into his bulky coat and extracts an old wallet. Opens the wallet, unzips the change pocket and carefully tucks the feather into the opening. Zips and closes the wallet and returns it to the folds of his stained coat.

Picks up his three bags and continues down the street, still talking.

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Matthew Morrison Performs, Addressing Death of Cory Monteith

On Sunday afternoon, Matthew Morrison walked onto the small stage at 54 Below, in Manhattan, his first performance following news of the death of Cory Monteith, who starred with Mr. Morrison on the Fox television show, “Glee.”

Before the set began, Mr. Morrison first addressed Mr. Monteith’s unexpected death on Saturday, in a hotel room in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Monteith played an upbeat high school student and singing coach on “Glee,” but he battled substance abuse problems in his personal life.

Calling Mr. Monteith a brother, he expressed his sadness and condolences. And, changing his opening number, he sang a capella, “What I did for Love,” from the musical, “A Chorus Line.” The song was also featured in “Glee” during the second season.

At the top of the number, Mr. Morrison also gave a two-fingered salute. As he finished, he acknowledged that it was “awkward” to continue the performance given Mr. Monteith’s death, but said, “You guys came to see a show, I came to perform a show, so that’s what we’ll do. And we’ll do it in Cory’s honor.”

He went on with a set of Broadway show tunes and jazz standards, even dancing on stage and quipping with the audience about the infamous drug-den history of the space under the 1970’s club, Studio 54 where the performance took place.

Plácido Domingo Plans to Return to Work

Dani Pozo/Agence France-Presse â€" Getty Images Plácido Domingo

After nearly a week in a Madrid hospital, where he was treated for a pulmonary embolism, the tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was released on Saturday, his spokeswoman, Nancy Seltzer, said. Although doctors have prescribed three to four weeks of rest, Mr. Domingo, 72, planned to begin easing his way back to work right away by attending a piano dress rehearsal of “Il Postino,” the opera by Daniel Catán that he was scheduled to sing at the Teatro Real in Madrid starting on Wednesday.

Mr. Domingo has withdrawn from the production, in which he was to have sung Pablo Neruda, the role he created when the work had its world premiere, in Vienna, and later performed at the Los Angeles Opera, where he is the general director. The role will be sung instead by Vicente Ombuena. Ms. Seltzer said that Mr. Domingo used his time in the hospital to study Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco,” which he is planning to sing in Salzburg in mid-August. He also expects to sing and conduct at Operalia, the vocal competition over which he presides in Verona, starting on Aug. 19.

“I am very happy that I was released from the hospital yesterday and to be at home in Madrid for the next weeks with my family,” Mr. Domingo said in a statement. “ At the same time I am very disappointed not to be able to perform in my home city, but hopefully if my recovery goes well and I feel healthy, I can continue with my planned performance schedule next month.”

Plácido Domingo Plans to Return to Work

Dani Pozo/Agence France-Presse â€" Getty Images Plácido Domingo

After nearly a week in a Madrid hospital, where he was treated for a pulmonary embolism, the tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was released on Saturday, his spokeswoman, Nancy Seltzer, said. Although doctors have prescribed three to four weeks of rest, Mr. Domingo, 72, planned to begin easing his way back to work right away by attending a piano dress rehearsal of “Il Postino,” the opera by Daniel Catán that he was scheduled to sing at the Teatro Real in Madrid starting on Wednesday.

Mr. Domingo has withdrawn from the production, in which he was to have sung Pablo Neruda, the role he created when the work had its world premiere, in Vienna, and later performed at the Los Angeles Opera, where he is the general director. The role will be sung instead by Vicente Ombuena. Ms. Seltzer said that Mr. Domingo used his time in the hospital to study Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco,” which he is planning to sing in Salzburg in mid-August. He also expects to sing and conduct at Operalia, the vocal competition over which he presides in Verona, starting on Aug. 19.

“I am very happy that I was released from the hospital yesterday and to be at home in Madrid for the next weeks with my family,” Mr. Domingo said in a statement. “ At the same time I am very disappointed not to be able to perform in my home city, but hopefully if my recovery goes well and I feel healthy, I can continue with my planned performance schedule next month.”

July 14: Where the Candidates Are Today

Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.

Joseph Burgess and Nicholas Wells contributed reporting.

Event information is listed as provided at the time of publication. Details for many of Ms. Quinn events are not released for publication.

Events by candidate

Albanese

Carrión

De Blasio

Liu

Quinn

Salgado

Thompson

Weiner

Group event

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

8:10 a.m.
Addresses the congregants of First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem.

1 p.m.
Attends the Giglio Festival, in which Italian-Americans commemorate the release of the martyr St. Paulinus from imprisonment by the Turks by lifting an 80-foot-tall, three-ton statue known as Giglio and parading it through the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

3 p.m.
Attends the West 111th Street Salsa Party and Old Timers Stickball Game with Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito in El Barrio.

John C. Liu
Democrat

8 a.m.
Teams up first with his Democratic rival Bill Thompson for a few innings and then for a few innings with the Independent Party nominee Adolfo Carrion Jr. to challenge three old-timers to stickball at the West 111th Street Salsa Party and Old Timers Stickball Game in El Barrio. Donald Kaplan, Mr. Carrion’s spokesman, provides the play-by-play.

11:15 a.m.
Attends a church service in Far Rockaway.

1:45 p.m.
Celebrates Bastille Day at a picnic with the Staten Island Democratic Association, at Willowbrook Park on Victory Boulevard.

2:30 p.m.
Attends a church service in the South Bronx.

Christine C. Quinn
Democrat

10:30 a.m.
Attends services at St. Philips Baptist Church in
Port Richmond, Staten Island.

11:15 a.m.
Forty-five minutes later, before leaving Staten Island, attends another service at the church that Anthony Weiner has just addressed, First Central Baptist Church on Wright Street.

4:15 p.m.
Heads over to Brooklyn for a Bastille Day Festival on Smith Street, complete with a petanque (pr. Pay-tonk) competition that pays homage to a traditional outdoor game played in France with some resemblance to horseshoes and bocce.

Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

Teams up with his mayoral rival John Liu, who also arrives early, to challenge some old-timers to stickball at the West 111th Street Salsa Party and Old Timers Stickball Game. After some good-natured trash talking, the candidates settle in and play begins against three old-timers in El Barrio. Mr. Thompson plays about three innings with Mr. Liu, gets a base hit and leaves, according to Donald Kaplan, spokesman for the mayoral contender Adolfo Carrion Jr. Mr. Kaplan is now providing the play-by-play.

10 a.m.
Attends services at Majority Baptist Church of Jamaica on Farmers Boulevard in Saint Albans, Queens.

10:40 a.m.
Forty minutes later, heads over to Bethany Baptist Church of Jamaica on 111th Avenue to attend services.

11:45 a.m.
Makes way to third set of services of the morning at Salem Missionary Baptist Church on 140th Avenue in Springfield Gardens, Queens.

12:30 p.m.
Wraps up fourth church service of the day at New Greater Bethel Ministries on Jamaica Avenue in Queens Village.

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

11 a.m.
Addresses the congregants at First Central Baptist Church, a congregation who will be playing host to Christine Quinn moments after Mr. Weiner, on Staten Island.

11:30 a.m.
Addresses his second church of the morning, at All Saints Episcopal Church on Staten Island.

1 p.m.
Attends the West 111th Street Salsa Party and Old Timers Stickball Game in El Barrio.

2 p.m.
Greets shoppers and diners at West 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem.

Sal F. Albanese
Democrat

10:30 a.m.
Addresses participants at the Federation of Italian-American Organziations’ 5K Run/Walk to Fight Drug Abuse medals ceremony at the FIAO Soccer Field in Astoria, Queens.

11 a.m.
Though his schedule did not call for him to show up till 1 p.m. or even to play, Mr. Albanese pops in on the West 111th Street Salsa Party and Old Timer’s Stickball Game before noon, where three of his rivals have been playing the old timers all morning in El Barrio. Exchanging hellos with Mr. Carrion, the new arrival takes his position “batting against Adolfo’s team,” and strikes out the first time he is at bat, according to Donald Kaplan, Mr. Carrion’s spokesman, providing the play-by-play.

11 a.m.
Greets shoppers and merchants at the Brooklyn Flea market on Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene.

3 p.m.
Heads over to Brooklyn for a Bastille Day Festival on Smith Street, complete with a petanque (pr. Pay-tonk) competition that pays homage to a traditional outdoor game played in France with some resemblance to horseshoes and bocce.

Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Independent

9 a.m.
Taking over where Mr. Thompson left off, Mr. Carrion teams up with his rival John Liu to challenge some old-timers to stickball at the West 111th Street Salsa Party and Old Timers Stickball Game in El Barrio. The crowd goes a little wild, according to Donald Kaplan, Mr. Carrion’s spokesman, who observes “lots of hugs for Adolfo when he arrived, and a lot of talk in Spanish, the old timers all know him.” Not wanting to disappoint, Mr. Carrion gets a hit on the first pitch.

1:30 p.m.
Takes a break from the festivities to address the congregants at Iglesia Asamblea Pentecostal Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

3:30 p.m.
Returns to the West 111th Street Party and Old Timers’ Stickball Game, in El Barrio.

Erick J. Salgado
Democrat

1 p.m.
Leads a rally praying for the passage of immigration reform, in Cropsey Park in Brooklyn.

Readers with information about events involving the mayoral candidates are invited to send details and suggestions for coverage to cowan@nytimes.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @cowannyt.

‘Pacific Rim’ Has a Slow Start at Theaters

For the third weekend in a row, a big-budget nonsequel sputtered in North America: “Pacific Rim,” which cost Legendary Entertainment and Warner Brothers at least $180 million to make, took in $38.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates. That result is a humiliation for Legendary, a young company that has been eager to prove that it can produce blockbusters on its own; Warner was a minority partner.

“Pacific Rim,” a robots-versus-monsters fantasy directed by Guillermo del Toro and intended to spawn a franchise, probably suffered from a crowded movie marketplace and a flawed advertising campaign, among other things. Hollywood has smelled a flop for weeks, and both Legendary and Warner have scrambled to avoid having “Pacific Rim” branded as such. A Legendary spokesman noted on Sunday that audiences gave the movie an A-minus score in exit polls - most critics also liked it - and pointed to sturdier international ticket sales of about $53 million.

For the weekend in the United States and Canada, the animated “Despicable Me 2” (Universal) repeated as No. 1, taking in an estimated $44.8 million, for a stellar two-week domestic total of $229.2 million. The Adam Sandler ensemble comedy “Grown Ups 2” (Sony) was second, selling about $42.5 million in tickets, a little less than “Grown Ups” in 2010 when accounting for inflation, but a solid result nonetheless. “Pacific Rim” was third.

‘Pacific Rim’ Has a Slow Start at Theaters

For the third weekend in a row, a big-budget nonsequel sputtered in North America: “Pacific Rim,” which cost Legendary Entertainment and Warner Brothers at least $180 million to make, took in $38.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates. That result is a humiliation for Legendary, a young company that has been eager to prove that it can produce blockbusters on its own; Warner was a minority partner.

“Pacific Rim,” a robots-versus-monsters fantasy directed by Guillermo del Toro and intended to spawn a franchise, probably suffered from a crowded movie marketplace and a flawed advertising campaign, among other things. Hollywood has smelled a flop for weeks, and both Legendary and Warner have scrambled to avoid having “Pacific Rim” branded as such. A Legendary spokesman noted on Sunday that audiences gave the movie an A-minus score in exit polls - most critics also liked it - and pointed to sturdier international ticket sales of about $53 million.

For the weekend in the United States and Canada, the animated “Despicable Me 2” (Universal) repeated as No. 1, taking in an estimated $44.8 million, for a stellar two-week domestic total of $229.2 million. The Adam Sandler ensemble comedy “Grown Ups 2” (Sony) was second, selling about $42.5 million in tickets, a little less than “Grown Ups” in 2010 when accounting for inflation, but a solid result nonetheless. “Pacific Rim” was third.

SeaWorld Entertainment Challenges a Documentary About Captive Orcas

LOS ANGELES â€" In a sharp exchange over the weekend, SeaWorld Entertainment and the team behind “Blackfish,” a documentary about the dangers associated with captive orcas, traded charges about the validity of the film, which is set for release on Friday by Magnolia Pictures.
“Blackfish” was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It particularly focuses on Tilikum, a killer whale that was involved in the death of a trainer, Dawn Brancheau, at SeaWorld’s park in Orlando, Fla., in 2010.

In an unusual weekend e-mail to about 50 film critics, SeaWorld representatives called the documentary “shamefully dishonest, deliberately misleading, and scientifically inaccurate.” They challenged portions of the film in detail, disputing what they called an “insinuation” that SeaWorld captures wild whales, which it says it has not done for 35 years, and did not adequately inform trainers about the dangers of working with Tilikum, an orca that was associated with two previous deaths.

In a Saturday response, the filmmakers noted that SeaWorld representatives declined to be interviewed for the film, and contested the SeaWorld assertions in detail. Among other things, they said “Blackfish” acknowledges that most whales at SeaWorld are not caught wild, and disputes a SeaWorld claim that the film incorrectly accused the company of using punishment-based training. They also said trainers were not fully briefed about the past deaths associated with Tilikum.
SeaWorld, which operates about a dozen theme parks, raised over $700 million in an initial public offering in April.

Michael Cieply covers the film industry from the Los Angeles bureau.